TRC Final Report

Volume 1

Chapter 10

Subsection 13

■ ESTABLISHING APPROPRIATE PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT PROGRAMMES (WITNESS SUPPORT)

17 From the outset, the Commission recognised the need to provide an environment that supported and respected the dignity of all who approached it. It was also agreed that, as far as possible, there should be sensitivity to the immediate needs of deponents and that they should be referred to existing service agencies.

18 In order to achieve this, the Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee provided an internal training programme for briefers and statement takers. This training was then extended to those outside the Commission who would assist in providing support. Working with victims of violence exposed helpers to the high levels of trauma and pain that had been experienced. To deal with this effectively, they needed a certain level of skills. In view of the fact that specialised facilities for trauma services are very limited in South Africa, and tend to be situated mainly in urban areas, the challenge was to train counsellors living in areas that were accessible to deponents.

19 Treatment of trauma is also a long and slow process. It was, therefore, essential to provide deponents with a sustainable service that would be available long after the Commission had concluded its work. For this reason, the emphasis was on building capacity in existing community structures.

20 Statement takers were exposed to the traumatic accounts of deponents and needed training on how to solicit their stories sensitively, while containing their pain. A team of counsellors, experienced in trauma counselling, was contracted to provide this training, monitored by the Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee.

21 The goals identified in the training and re-training of statement takers concerned the ability to take a statement empathetically in accordance with the format or structure of the form. From the very first training programme conducted by mental health professionals, a strong focus was placed on some of the emotional and crisis management elements of statement taking. In retrospect, others who had been involved in processing statements should have been included, in particular representatives of the Investigation Unit, the Research Department and the Legal Department.

22 Briefers were responsible for supporting deponents who testified at public hearings. To do this work they needed special skills, including the ability to debrief deponents after testimony and to control their own emotions when faced with the pain of victims. Their training consisted of:

a sensitisation to inter-personal dynamics;

b role playing with a focus on person-centred and fact-centred listening and the effects on the interviewee of different types of questioning style;

c the paralinguistic aspects of listening, such as body language, pace of speech and eye contact;

d an introduction to post traumatic stress syndrome symptoms;

e an introduction to basic crisis management skills;

f an introduction to stress management, using systems theory;

g an accent on defining the boundaries of the briefers’ role.

23 The Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee maintained a presence in the development and presentation of training, in order to ensure that the concept of reparations remained in the forefront.

24 The training of briefers and statement-takers was co-ordinated by the regional co-ordinators and the mental health specialist. Community briefers were trained to increase the Commission’s capacity to provide emotional support to those who participated in its activities, and assisted with the briefing and debriefing of deponents before, during and immediately after the hearings. After the hearings, they continued to provide support to people who gave statements, ensuring that support was available to them in their communities. The Commission undertook training in such a way as to strengthen already existing structures. It also ensured that support was provided by people who were trusted by the victims and who shared the same language and culture. Sensitivity to such aspects was part of the commitment of the Commission to provide a service that was victim-friendly, culturally appropriate and respectful of the dignity of witnesses.

22 Briefers were responsible for supporting deponents who testified at public hearings. To do this work they needed special skills, including the ability to debrief deponents after testimony and to control their own emotions when faced with the pain of victims. Their training consisted of:

a sensitisation to inter-personal dynamics;

b role playing with a focus on person-centred and fact-centred listening and the effects on the interviewee of different types of questioning style;

c the paralinguistic aspects of listening, such as body language, pace of speech and eye contact;

d an introduction to post traumatic stress syndrome symptoms;

e an introduction to basic crisis management skills;

f an introduction to stress management, using systems theory;

g an accent on defining the boundaries of the briefers’ role.

23 The Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee maintained a presence in the development and presentation of training, in order to ensure that the concept of reparations remained in the forefront.

24 The training of briefers and statement-takers was co-ordinated by the regional co-ordinators and the mental health specialist. Community briefers were trained to increase the Commission’s capacity to provide emotional support to those who participated in its activities, and assisted with the briefing and debriefing of deponents before, during and immediately after the hearings. After the hearings, they continued to provide support to people who gave statements, ensuring that support was available to them in their communities. The Commission undertook training in such a way as to strengthen already existing structures. It also ensured that support was provided by people who were trusted by the victims and who shared the same language and culture. Sensitivity to such aspects was part of the commitment of the Commission to provide a service that was victim-friendly, culturally appropriate and respectful of the dignity of witnesses.

25 Briefers were familiarised with the Commission’s processes. Trauma counselling and training manuals were developed. Special training was also provided to psychologists and social workers in the South African Medical Service of the South African National Defence Force in Pretoria and Cape Town in order to prepare their staff to assist the Commission. Students working at SHAWCO (a student health and welfare organisation based at the University of Cape Town) were also trained.

26 After the first round of human rights violations hearings in 1996, it became evident that there was a need for post-hearing follow-up. In some areas, the hearings opened up old conflicts that threatened stability in the community. It also became clear that the hearings did not themselves provide opportunities for reconciliation. The Reparation and Rehabilitation Committee therefore formulated a policy of arranging follow-up visits to help communities to:

a evaluate the impact of gross human rights violations;

b contribute towards the formulation of reparation and rehabilitation policy recommendations;

c devise strategies to promote reconciliation and healing in those neighbourhoods;

d begin to ‘own’ the reconciliation process and create community-based initiatives that would continue after the Commission’s work had ended.